CloudPanel SFTP Beginner

How to connect to CloudPanel via SFTP

Create SFTP/SSH users per site in CloudPanel and connect with FileZilla or any SFTP client. Manage site file access securely without sharing root credentials.

UnderHost NOC Network Operations

5 min read Updated June 2026

On this page

SFTP users in CloudPanel
Connect with FileZilla
SSH key authentication
Troubleshooting SFTP connections

CloudPanel creates a system user for each site. This user is used for SFTP access-it is chrooted to the site's directory, so it cannot access other sites on the server. You set the username and password when you create the site.

SFTP users in CloudPanel

Each site in CloudPanel has one primary system user (set during site creation). This user is your SFTP login for that site. You can view or change the password:

Go to Sites → your site → Users (or SSH Users)
The system user is listed there-you can update the password if needed

You can also add additional SSH users per site from the same tab. Additional users can be given SSH key authentication instead of a password.

Connect with FileZilla

Setting	Value
Protocol	SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol
Host	Your server IP address (or domain once DNS is configured)
Port	22 (default SSH port; may be different if changed on your server)
Logon type	Normal
User	The site system user (shown in CloudPanel → Sites → your site → Users)
Password	The system user password

In FileZilla: open File → Site Manager → New Site, fill in the settings above, and click Connect. Accept the server's host key if prompted.

After connecting, you will be in the site's home directory. Navigate to htdocs/yourdomain.com/ to reach the web root.

SSH key authentication

Password-based SFTP is convenient but SSH key authentication is more secure. To set up key-based auth:

Generate an SSH key pair

On your local computer, run:
```
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com"
```
This creates a private key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519) and public key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub).
Add the public key to CloudPanel

Go to Sites → your site → Users. Click the user you want to configure. In the SSH Keys section, paste the contents of your id_ed25519.pub file and save.
Connect with the private key

In FileZilla: Site Manager → your site → change Logon type to Key file → browse to your id_ed25519 private key file. No password needed.

Troubleshooting SFTP connections

Problem	Cause and fix
Connection refused on port 22	SSH port may have been changed on the server. Check the actual SSH port and use it in FileZilla
Port 22 blocked	Your network may block SSH. Use a VPN or try from a different network
Authentication failed	Wrong username or password. Check the system user details in CloudPanel → Sites → your site → Users
Connected but very limited directory access	The system user is chrooted to its home directory by design. Navigate to `htdocs/yourdomain.com/` to find your website files
Host key changed warning	If you reinstalled the server or OS, the host key changed. Remove the old key from your known_hosts file and reconnect